NASCAR has announced plans for a public celebration of life service for the late two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
Charlotte Motor Speedway will be the host of the memorial on Friday, Oct. 9 after that day’s Craftsman Truck Series race. NASCAR says the celebration of life will be free to attend and more information is to come.
Busch ‒ the all-time winningest driver across NASCAR’s top three national touring circuits with 234 combined victories ‒ died suddenly on May 21 at the age of 41 at the Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. The day before, he had become unresponsive and was coughing up blood at a racing simulator facility in Concord, North Carolina.
He was cremated at the Cavin-Cook Funeral Home in Mooresville, North Carolina. A private memorial service was held on June 2. Hours later, Busch’s 11-year-old son Brexton was in his racecar, running practice laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
According to his death certificate, Busch died due to hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation ‒ which causes widespread clotting in small blood vessels. The NASCAR driver had been suffering from sepsis for at least a day and had been dealing with complications of presumed bacterial pneumonia for “days to weeks.”
Near the end of NASCAR’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, 11 days before his death, Busch could be heard calling for a doctor over his radio. He captured his final checkered flag just six days before his death, winning the Truck Series race at Dover.
Busch’s death rocked the sport of stockcar racing and tributes have poured in. Winning drivers have paid homage by celebrating victories with Busch’s signature bow, Denny Hamlin carried a flag with Busch’s No. 8 on it around the track, some drivers wore Busch hats and slapped decals on their cars, Sonoma put him in its Wall of Fame, and Busch’s father drove an honorary lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway before one of his grandson’s races.
Chase Elliott, who has won NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award eight consecutive times, told reporters that he is withdrawing his name from the ballot in the hopes that Busch wins it. Elliott will drive the truck that Busch won his final race in ‒ the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports ‒ at North Wilkesboro later this month.
Busch’s brother ‒ NASCAR Hall of Famer and Cup Series champion Kurt Busch ‒ recently returned to racing, finishing third in an event at the historic Le Mans course in France. He said before the race that, “Kyle’s spirit will always ride with me.”
Kyle Busch won 63 races in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series, which ranks 10th all-time. The Las Vegas native owns the most wins in the Truck Series and the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He also owns the Cup Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win, taking the checkered flag in 19 straight years from 2005 to 2023.
Busch won his pair of championships while driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, but most recently was piloting the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. That car has since been renumbered to 33 and is being driven by Austin Hill. Childress has said that Busch’s stylized No. 8 will remain retired unless his son Brexton wants to use it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR to host public celebration of life for Kyle Busch at Charlotte Speedway
